N A K finished reading A history of the world in 6 glasses by Tom Standage
It’s really all about water
Reviews and Comments
This link opens in a pop-up window
N A K finished reading Dark Wire by Joseph Cox
The inside story of the largest law-enforcement sting operation ever, in which the FBI made …
Helps understand law enforcement’s fixation on back doors in encryption
An ode to triangles, the shape that makes our lives possible.
The humble triangle
4 stars
As only he can Matt Parker looks at the humble triangle which, as it turns out, is responsible for reality as we know it.
A look at how thinking about science changed in the nineteenth century
4 stars
A decent overview of how science become professionalized in the Victorian era and how we see the future is still much the way those of that era saw it.
N A K started reading What's Next by Melissa Fitzgerald
A large distraction from current reading plan
N A K reviewed The Secret Life of Data by Aram Sinnreich
Good information well presented
5 stars
As the authors say data does not flow to the lowest point like water it spreads out reaching unexpected places. They look at how even data collected for the best reasons can, and often does, get used in unintended ways. I appreciated that they don’t try to present solutions but do speak to how things can get better, slowly. Highly recommend if you are at all interested in data collection, privacy, or related topics.
N A K commented on The Secret Life of Data by Aram Sinnreich
The authors use the term Biometric Puppetry. I claim this as a name for an 80s hair metal tribute band
N A K started reading The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2.5)
Deep below the University, there is a dark place. Few people know of it: a …
I try to reads this at least one a year. I love it.
N A K reviewed Voice Lessons by Rob Paulsen
Yet another self-indulgent celebrity autobiography
5 stars
And you should read it. Or better yet listen to it. The audio version is read by the author. Hopefully you know he is an actor so you get just a bit more than a dry listen.
Along with the stories and voices you get some life lessons so be careful or you might learn something.
N A K finished reading Voice Lessons by Rob Paulsen
Fantastic book
N A K started reading Wyrd sisters : a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett
Wyrd Sisters is Terry Pratchett's sixth Discworld novel, published in 1988. It re-introduces Granny Weatherwax …
Reading through the witches because one needs regular Pratchett
N A K reviewed Tasting whiskey by Lew Bryson
You could drink whiskey without knowing all this
4 stars
But why would you want to? Good information and stories. A good read.
N A K finished reading The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin
Centuries in the future, Terrans have established a logging colony & military base named “New …
Oddly I’ve never read much Ursula K Le Guin so given that and the age of the story it was an interesting read.
N A K reviewed Prohibition Orcs by Michael Warren Lucas
Fantasy/Alternate history
4 stars
A series of somewhat connected stories using Orcs as a stand in for American immigrants in late 1920s North America. I usually shy away from real world with added fantasy elements but I thought I had would give this a try. Overall I think the author did a good job of telling the stories from the Orcs POV. The characters were well developed and the setting pulled me in. I’m not sure I’ll read more in the series anything soon but I may come back to it sometime.